Bilibid ‘resthouse’ demolished

MANILA, Philippines – A high-profile inmate’s abandoned “resthouse” was demolished during a raid on the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) maximum security compound yesterday.

The resthouse had an air-conditioned attic and a music room where Herbert Colangco, a bank robbery gang leader, produced music videos.

The resthouse was the target of a raid in November 2014.

Colangco’s music album, “Kinabukasan,” reached gold and platinum status in May 2014 and the convict – who used the name Herbert C – was named New Male Recording Artist of the Year at the 6th Philippine Movie Press Club Star Awards for Music in September 2014.

Colangco was among the “Bilibid 19,” high-profile inmates who were transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation detention facility last year after the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) discovered the inmates’ lavish lifestyle in the prison.

He and 53 other convicts, including the other Bilibid 19 inmates, are now housed in Building 14, which was renovated to make it a high-security prison building. The structure used to house the execution chamber for death convicts.

Shipping containers as prison cells

NBP superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf said the clearing of illegal structures in the 19-hectare prison complex would allow for the installation of refurbished shipping containers that will serve as prison cells.

The maximum security compound has 14,000 inmates confined in 13 dormitories in the prison complex.

The BuCor expects to decongest the dormitories by at least 3,000 inmates, Schwarzkopf said.

He and BuCor director general Ricardo Rainier Cruz led the raid on the dormitory that houses around 700 members of the Batang Cebu gang.

A homemade 12-gauge shotgun, ammunition, electronic gadges, appliances and other contraband were seized during the raid.